Something Different
by bethanytokitoki
Summary: Jack, Rapunzel, Hiccup, and Merida have all had hard lives with bad things happening to each of them. When they go to Hogwarts they come across more hardships but are met with an equal amount of love and friendship. They didn't know what to expect from Hogwarts, but they all knew it was time for something different. (Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons AU)
1. Part One: Changes

**A/N: Hey so this is the first chapter to my brainchild! The first part of this is the back story/ set up for Jack, Merida, Rapunzel, and Hiccup. It's going to be kind of long and there are some parts that are kind of graphic, especially for Jack and Merida. But part one is very important but it is going to be about 12 or so chapters before we get to Hogwarts. So I will try to update and write as much as I can to try and get there in a month or so! Check out my blog for updates and other stuff about the story: .com**

**Disclaimer: I am only doing this once and that is it. I do not own Rise of the Guardians, How to Train Your Dragon, Brave, Tangled, or Harry Potter.**

**And now without further adieu…**

~SOMETHING DIFFERENT~

(Part One)

_chapter one_

~(JACK)~

The moment that your life changes is something that you don't always notice when it happens. It can be very small and you wouldn't even spare it a second glance. However, for a little boy by the name of Jack, he realized that his life changed when his little sister was born.

The 3 year old held his new baby sister in the hospital room with the help of his dad and his mother smiling at them from her hospital bed. Emma, that was what the name her, was so small and beautiful and had the cutest little freckle under her eye. Looking down at her, Jack felt the overwhelming urge to always protect her.

And he did just that, as they grew up he was always by her side. If she fell down, he would pick her up. If she ever wanted to play hopscotch, he would play with her. If she were ever picked on at the playground that was near their small house, he would be there to beat up the bullies and to give her a hug. He was always there for her and he was her knight in shimmering armor. He thought that nothing would ever separate them that they would always be together.

But when he was around 6 years old his life changed again, but this time it wasn't so noticeable. His parents acted different, especially around each other. His father came home later and was always grumpy at Jack's mom. His mother was always thirsty and acted silly a lot. She kept saying mean things to his dad and would yell at him. They didn't seem to want to be near each other either. His dad would sleep on the couch and his mom slept in their room alone. It wasn't long before his mom and dad had a big fight. His dad said something about Emma not even being his and his mom yelled at him for always spending money on other women. His mom threw things across the room and his dad yelling at the top of his lungs. Jack hated it, he and Emma were huddled in the kitchen and he was comforting her. Jack didn't understand any of it. Parents were supposed to love each other. Is this what love was like or was it hate? Jack wished that they would stop and go back to normal. Eventually it did stop when his dad left and didn't come back. His mom cried a lot after that and was angry for a long time. Jack would ask her she was mad at him and Emma. But she would just give him one of her rare smiles and stroked his hair.

"I could never be mad at you, you're my precious babies." She would tell him.

She worked a lot and they had to move to a smaller apartment but they were together and he had Emma with him. His mother would come home late and be very tired but she still tucked them into bed when she could. Most nights it would be just Jack and Emma though. Jack knew that his mother tried to be there and that she was working hard every night so that they had food but it was hard being alone. He doesn't ever get to be a kid anymore. He has to look out for his sister and make sure that the house is clean and make food for Emma and him. He was starting to wish things could go back to normal, when his parents were together and his sister didn't ask where her mother was and he had to lie to her because honestly, he didn't know.

It was a year after his dad left and he just turned 7 that he noticed the change in his mother. She still worked a lot but there was something off about her. When she came home she cried a lot and would drink a lot. A lot of the times when she came home she was already drunk and angry. Sometimes she would throw things and once she grabbed Jack by the shoulders and pushed him into the wall. Emma would be asleep by the time she came home (and Jack thanked God that she was a heavy sleeper) so Jack was the only one who would see their mother like this but Jack found himself being almost afraid of his mother. She was no longer the caring woman she used to be. She hardly ever smiled or gave any affection to Emma. She never told Jack she loved him or comforted Emma when she cried. She seemed hallow, like she had just given up.

One night when he was 8, Jack woke up and found his mother on the kitchen floor after she had gotten home from work. He had fallen asleep while tucking Emma in and was awakened by a thud. He went to the kitchen and found that it was his mother after she fell to the ground. He found a knife on the counter and saw that her wrists were bleeding. He called 911 like people do on the cop shows he would watch and then he tried to wake his mother up and stop the bleeding. Jack wanted to think that someone had done this to her or that she was still alive, but he knew that she had done this to herself and that she probably would not wake up. Jack had grown up a lot over the past year and learned that life isn't all that great. He knew that his mother drank beer and not special juice, as he used to call it, he knew that she was with a lot of men for money, he knew that she thought of Jack and Emma as baggage that always got in the way (she told him in a drunken rant), and he knew that she wanted to be rid of this life and to get away. What he didn't know was that she meant to kill herself. The one night he went to bed before she came home and it was a night she found herself alone and sad and she saw a chance to end it all and she took it.

The paramedics arrived ten minutes after Jack called. One of them gently pulled Jack away while the other felt for a pulse. He gave the other a small shake of the head. Jack knew that this meant that his mother was dead. He sank to his knees and starred at his mother. His mom. He couldn't cry but he felt an overwhelming feeling of dread, like this wasn't the worst that would happen. But Jack was surprised that he felt a small sense of relief, how terrible is that? His mom was dead and he felt relieved. Jack felt someone wrap their arms around him and rub his arm soothingly. He knew that the paramedic was trying to help him but he didn't need it.

_'Why aren't they doing everything to help my mom?'_ Jack thought. _'I'm going to be okay but what if my mom can still be saved? How am I gonna tell Emma?'_

He knew that he had to go tell her, he didn't want to though. Jack would've preferred to let Emma sleep and stay on that realm of dreams and let her sleep through this madness forever. But he knew that couldn't be.

Jack knew that he just had to do it fast, like a Band-Aid. Just rip it off and then let the pain come. But as he stirred her from her sleep he found himself unable to do it. Jack knew that it was his job as her older brother to tell her that their mother had died but it was like there was something stuck in his throat that wouldn't go away no matter how many time he swallowed.

Emma had woken up and Jack was still unable to speak. He was battling with himself on the inside. Trying to get himself to tell her but also trying to talk himself out of it or find a different way of telling her.

'_I can't just show Emma mom. That would just be to much for her to take, it was to much for me to take.' _Jack didn't know what to do and it was then that even though for the past year and a half she wasn't the best mother, Jack needed his mom. He needed his mom to explain to Emma that she was dead.

That was how he ended up telling her. With tears falling from his eyes, Jack told Emma that their mother was dead.

Emma, of course, cried very hard. She clung to Jack and he carried her into the main room of their apartment where one of the paramedics was waiting. Jack to Emma to the couch and cradled her as they both cried.

Perhaps 20 minutes later Jack felt a hand on his shoulder. He looks up a sees a middle aged blonde woman in a gray suit smiling gently to him.

"Hello." She said to Jack gently "My name is Mary Garnish, what's yours?"

Jack could tell that she was a social worker and that she was trying to help them but Jack felt bitter about everything that had happened so he just looked back at Emma and stayed quiet. Very mature of him isn't it?

"Honey," She said gently "I'm trying to help you and I can't do that unless you let me. Just give me your names please."

Jack felt bad now, she was just doing her job and she was being really nice. It wasn't her fault that his mom died.

"I'm Jack." He informed Mary "This is Emma." Jack kept the introductions short, as he couldn't trust his voice to not break and not to start crying again. He didn't want to cry anymore, it took up too much energy and he was tired

"And what about your last name?" Mary pushed gently.

Jack paused here, not because he was hesitant on actually _giving _her their last name. It was actually choosing which name to give her: his mothers or his fathers. His mother had gone back to using her maiden name but Jack had been still using his father's family name. His father may have left them but he was still Jack's father and the name was the only thing that Jack had of him.

"Frost." Jack decided, "Our last name is Frost."

"All right Jack," Mary said as she wrote down their names on the clipboard she was carrying, "I need you and your sister to come with me."

"Where are we going?" Jack inquired hesitantly.

"You don't need to worry about that right now. Do you think you can gather up some of you and your sister's thing and put them in these backpacks?" Mary handed Jack said backpacks, both similar in size. Jack didn't want to leave Emma with this stranger even though she was relatively nice. He had a feeling that something was going to change and that it wasn't for the better.

But he left for their room anyway and got together as much of their things that he could. He packed clothes first and then with what other space he fit in things that had sentimental value. He made sure to pack Emma's teddy bear and her favorite picture book, The Man in the Moon. On his way out he saw out of the corner of his eye he saw something taped to the wall. It was a picture of his family before everything happened. Before his parents started fighting and before his dad had left. Before his mom went down hill and before Jack grew up. It was taken in front of their old house and it was when Jack was 4 and Emma was 1. It was Easter and they had just finished the hunt. Jack found a lot of eggs but he gave some to Emma. It was a good day and that is why Jack kept this picture. Jack folded it and put in the front pocket of Emma's backpack as he made the short trip to the front door.

Waiting there was Emma holding the hand of Mary Garnish, eyes shrink rapped in tears and sniffling her nose. Jack walked over to her and handed her the backpack with her things in it and took Emma's hand as he let Mary lead them out. As they were exiting, Jack gave one last look at the apartment. It was really small now that Jack thought. He wasn't going to miss it, that's for sure, but this _is _where they lived for almost two years. He couldn't just forget it and he probably never will. They ate breakfast at the tiny table and Jack and Emma would watch cartoons on the couch. And their mother died in the kitchen.

No, he would never be able to forget this place.

In the parking lot outside their apartment a police officer was talking to the landlord and another one was talking to another man in a gray suit. _'Another social worker?' _Jack thought that was strange that they needed two to take Jack and Emma where ever they were going. He felt Emma squeeze his hand and he look down at her. She was crying again and looking at something ahead. Jack looked to where her gaze was and saw the ambulance that their mother was in driving away.

The silence was broken by the other social worker coming over.

"Are you ready?" He asked Mary.

"I suppose." She answered him resentfully. "I always hate when this has to happen."

'_What are they talking about?' _Jack thought as he looked up between them inquisitively.

"There is no other way, Mary." The man said regretfully.

"I know, Tim, I know." Mary then looked down at Jack and crouched to his level, "Jack," She started slowly and put a hand on his shoulder, "There's no good way to tell you this and I don't want to baby you, so I'm just going to tell you."

"W-what?" Jack said nervously, not liking where this was going and wondering if this day could get any worse.

Mary sighed, "You and Emma can't stay together. Emma is coming with me and you need to go with Mr. Tim."

Apparently this day _could_ get worse, much, much worse.

"What?! No!" Jack exclaimed. '_This can't be happening!' _he frantically thought _'I gotta stay with her! I've always been with Emma!'_

"Jack," the guy, "Mr. Tim", said trying to calm him. "Please don't make this difficult. I wish there was a way that you could stay together, but there isn't."

"Jack you need to let Emma go now, you can say your goodbyes and then we need to get going." Mary put her hand on Jacks shoulder but he flinched away and pulled Emma close to him.

"No! I'm not gonna let you take her!" Jack screamed at her, beyond upset.

"Jack?" Emma asked, "What's happening? I'm scared."

Jack looked down at her, "It's alright Emma, nothing is gonna happen," He tried to stay calm but he saw Tim coming close to them, "NO! Get away!" He then took Emma's hand and ran away from the adults. But they didn't get far as Tim ran after them and caught up with his long legs. He grabbed Jack from around the waist and pulled him up into the air, causing Jack and Emma to lose grip of their hands. Jack fought to get free, kicking and screaming. He saw Mary go to Emma and hold her in place as Emma tried to chase after Jack and Tim. As Jack's suppressor walked away Jack turned around in his grip and looked over his shoulder at Emma, still trying to climb out of the grip.

"EMMA!" Jack screamed in desperation to her, pleading to God to let this not be happening. Pleading that he may get free or stay with her forever.

"JACK!" Emma tried to get out of Mary's grip on her right arm as she reached out her left arm to Jack, crying her eyes out, "Don't leave me!"

Jack fought harder and harder to get to her, but it was too late. He was pushed into the backseat of the police car that was to take him away and the door was shut behind him before he could scramble out. Jack screamed and screamed to be let out but to know avail.

"Emma!" '_LET ME OUT!' _Jack thought frenzied _'I can't leave her! I CAN'T!' _But as he banged on the back windshield the car started to drive away. Jack saw Emma being carried into the other police car and then the car he was in pulled out of the apartment complex and turned a corner and he couldn't see her any more. For the first time since she was born, Jack left Emma all alone.

Jack turned around in his seat, stunned at what had happened today. _'Is this it? I'm never gonna see her again?' _Jack couldn't take it. He let out a breath, then another, and then another. Pretty soon his breaths got frantic. Jack put his head in his hands _'This can't be happening. I don't have anyone? No family and no home? No Emma?'_

That was when he lost it. Jack let out a great, wrenching sob and wept.

~(To Be Continued)~

**I'll update in a few days but tell me what you think and check out my blog!**

**~Bethany**


	2. Part One: Longing

**A/N Hey! I would just like to say thank you all for reading this story! It means a lot to me! This chapter is pretty short; it's about two pages long while the last one was around 6. That does not mean that this isn't an important chapter but it does mean that after posting this I will probably post the next chapter in about two or three days! All right so that is pretty much all I have to say. Please enjoy this baby of a chapter!**

~SOMETHING DIFFERENT~

Part One

_chapter 2_

~(JACK)~

Jack hated it at the foster home. He hated the other boys, he hated how cramped it was, he hated the sucky food, and he hated the "parents". After he had been taken away by the social worker he was placed into the "gentle" and "loving" care of Mr. and Mrs. Grumashirm on their farm in The Middle of Nowhere, New Jersey with around seven other guys, all varying in age ranges. Most of the other guys had been there a little longer then Jack had so they saw him as the newbie and therefore the one pick on. One of their favorite games was to hide his shoes from him and then chase after him with sticks until he found them. Sometimes he found them relatively quickly, other days it took him much longer to find them and by the end of the running around his feet were all cut up by twigs or small rocks. They other guys would also play some pretty mean pranks on him. One time when Jack was asleep, they honey in his hair and he had to chop of large sections of his hair to get rid of it. Other time Jack was locked in the barn with the crazy bull that would attack anything it saw. Jack had to climb up into the rafters to avoid it. The pranks and cruelty from them had gone on for the few months Jack had been staying there, but after a few more tricks, Jack turned the tables on them and started playing pranks on them. His pranks outranked theirs by far and they called a truce. They still argued and fought but they weren't causing physical harm to each other any more, and that was how Jack liked it.

The one thing that Jack and the other boys agreed on was that their caretakers were absolutely horrid people. Mr. Grumashirm had a rotund figure and dark, greasy hair and often smelt of spoiled milk and feet. He would give the boys jobs around the farm and without any help from him and the boys would come back to the house exhausted from either fixing the barn, hoeing the fields, mucking out stables, or any other grueling job that Mr. Grumashirm could think of. If one of the boys had messed up on something, however, they wouldn't get any diner. It has occurred more often then you would think. Jack came to the conclusion that he and the other guys didn't even do anything, the Grumashirm's just wanted more food for themselves and this was their excuse. Not like Jack really cared whenever it happened to him, the food that they got was so bad. It was like it was almost meant to be sucky.

Mrs. Grumashirm was even larger then her husband and just as crude. If there were an issue about anything she would resort to yelling at one of them boys, even if it weren't their fault. Her face would go red and it would've been funny if not for the common threat of being beaten with the wooden spoon that hang on the kitchen wall. If she was angry enough she would give them multiple whacks with it and boy did she have a swing. Jack never underestimated the power of the spoon any more; he's seen what it could do.

The worst part about Jacks situation, however, was not the mean kids, the sucky meal plan, or the aggressive adults. It was that Jack hadn't seen Emma for months. They weren't allowed to send each other letters because it broke some sort of code, not like Jack cared all that much about that. He just wanted to be with her and to see her beautiful smile again. Jack had barely managed to get his social worker to let him where Emma was staying and all he could tell Jack was that she was in New York City. It did nothing to comfort him and just made him more anxious to be with her.

Jack knew that he would probably never see her again unless he got out of this place. He just needed to find out how he would get away so that no one would notice and how he would get all the way to New York. He came up with a plan that he decided would be his best option. Jack waited till Sunday night after the football game that Mr. Grumashirm watched and got drunk to, falling into a very deep slumber. This was also the night that Mrs. Grumashirm made her monthly trip to visit he sister in Maryland. Jack waited till all the boys were asleep and got his things together, everything that hadn't been ruined by the other boys when they pranked him. Jack made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where he got together some food.

Next came the stupid part. Jack went into the living room where they kept the hidden safe. Jack had found it of course, it wasn't even all that hard to find even. Just behind a panel in the wall was the safe that the Grumashirm's kept their money because they didn't believe in banks. It wasn't even a safe really now that Jack thought about it, it was more like a lock box that could easily be picked. The hard part was to make sure that he didn't wake Mr. Grumashirm as he removed the wall panel and picked the lock. It was a slow process, but Jack knew that that was the only way to do it. When he opened the lock he took out two hundred dollars and slowly placed the panel on the wall again and made his way out.

Jack snuck out onto the porch and looked around at the farm. He was so not going to miss this place, he wanted to forget all about it and never come back. So that was what he did. He jumped off the porch and sprinted to the road and made his way to the nearest town, four miles away. When he got there he got on the next Grey Hound bus to New York and slept. He dreamt of being in a better place and of being in the city where he has heard that dreams come true. He dreamt of Emma and it was a good sleep.

~(TO BE CONTINUED)~

**A/N See I told you it was short but it did have some things that were needed. Okay awesome! Please don't be shy and review! Even if you don't have an account, I want to know what everyone thinks! I love anything I get from my readers! **_**Everything…**_

**I love you guys!**


	3. Part One: Searching

**A/N Alright so I'm not that satisfied with this chapter. It's fine and everything, it just feels a little rushed to me. I'm working on slowing things down because I'm gonna need that for future chapters but this chapter happened before that decision so to me it feels kind of rushed. Okay well I'm do with that rant now. You all are probably going to want to kill me after this chapter but just remember without me you will never get the next chapter! HAHAHAHAHA! I'm going to be working on it every chance I get this coming week so next Sunday you will have a new chapter! Basically just expect a new chapter every Sunday unless told other wise on the tumblr blog. All right I think I'm done with my rambles now! On to the story!**

~SOMETHING DIFFERENT~

Part One

_chapter 3_

~(JACK)~

Things weren't exactly going the way Jack had originally thought they would be when he first arrived in New York. Firstly, Jack didn't know how ridiculously big this city was. There were millions and millions of people here; Jack's never even been in a room that has more then a hundred people! Secondly, Jack originally thought that once he got to New York he would be able to find Emma in a matter of weeks or no longer then about two months. But it's been about a year and half and still no sign of her.

Jack's searched every chance he has had for her. He would go down any ally; look in any neighborhood; he even tore out the page of a phone book for the foster homes. Nothing. There was absolutely no sign of her anywhere, so far. Jack had to kept positive even though it was really hard to be and really easy to be pessimistic.

"I still haven't checked everywhere." Jack would tell himself, "There are still a bunch of places that she could be."

Jack was determined that they would be together again, no matter how unrealistic it may be. Jack couldn't live without her and these past two and a half years have almost been the death of him, especially in New York.

New York wasn't some magical place where all your dreams came true like they make it sound in the old songs and movies. At least for Jack it wasn't. Everyday Jack worked his butt off to get food. He tried not to go to soup kitchens to often because he didn't want the volunteers to get familiar with him. He knew that if they got to know who he is and they saw he didn't have any parents they would turn him in. Jack understood that they would believe that they would be helping him, but they wouldn't be.

So Jack only went when he didn't get much money from his "job". Jack's "job" consisted of him going to Times Square and going up to tourists and offering to take pictures of them for 1 dollar each. 7 times out of 10 he would either be turned down or they would avoid making eye contact with the scrawny, dirty, beggar kid. But after a while he would get a family that would pity him and just have him take one picture for them, but sometimes, if he is patient enough, he got a family that wanted five pictures or a large group who all wanted the same picture but on different cameras. Those were the days when he feasted on the McDonalds dollar menu and bought a new roll of duct tape or something else that he needed.

But most days Jack wouldn't get any "costumers", like today, for example. Today was a cold and windy early December. It had started to lightly rain around noon and had continued steadily since then. It was now evening and Jack hadn't made a single cent since he started at one. He had gone up to anyone who seemed touristy, but on account of how rainy and cold it was there weren't a lot of people around and those who were would tell him to shove it when he made his sales approach. Jack assumed that they didn't want to have to bother with him in the cold and wind and rain. Jack had given up around four and had been sitting on the sidewalk rapped up in a thin blanket he found, begging on for any spare change.

'_I feel pathetic.'_ Jack thought to himself, '_well more pathetic then usual' "_Spare change, please?" Jack asked a woman talking on her cell phone as she passed. She stopped and looked at him as she reached into her purse, still talking on her phone. She pulled out some change that she found at the bottom of her purse and put it in his plastic cup. Jack looked down at his earnings.

'_Five quarters, two dimes, seven pennies, and a couple bobby pins.' _Jack thought with a dead penned look on his face, "Real generous of you lady!" Jack yelled to her. As she turned to look at him, quickening her pace, Jack yelled at her again.

"Yeah! I'll just get myself a nice pack of GUM! Keep hair outta my face while I chew it." Jack mumbled the last part to himself. He didn't care anymore what people thought of him, he really didn't. It didn't matter anyway; they just pass by him and barely give him a glance. Most think that Jack is some kid just wanting some money so that he can buy something that his parents won't buy for him. This is why Jack didn't straight up beg very often; people in times square like to take pictures in front of the big billboards of plays so they are mostly fine with stopping and having a kid come up and talk to them. But when you sit on the sidewalk up against a building, people who are on their way to somewhere else don't want to bother with you.

Jack kept begging though, wanting to make enough money for a hot chocolate at Starbucks. Man, he could go for one of those right now and maybe even a bagel. Jack's stomach growled and he was about to leave to try somewhere else when he saw a large man looking at him. He was very big and kind of intimidating. He had white hair and a bushy beard. Jack thought about leaving and avoiding this man but then he looked into his eyes. They were big and blue, but they were full of kindness. Kindness like Jack hadn't seen since his mother was with him. There was also excitement, but more hesitant and worried. Jack stood as the man came to him and held out his cup to the man.

"Spare change?" Jack raised an eyebrow as he asked hesitantly.

"Ah!" The man said, "Of course." He had a thick accent, maybe Russian. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out a dollar and placed it in Jacks hand, grasping it with both of his in a firm shake.

"Uh, thanks." Jack said, a little weirded out by the physical contact. He looked down at the money and saw that it was a twenty-dollar bill! Jack looked up at the Russian man, shocked at his generosity. "This is a twenty!" was all he could say.

"Boy your age should not be out in cold. Where are your parents?" The man asked with his thick accent.

Jack mentally sighed, '_so he's one of those,' _Jack thought. '_A worried adult who wants to feel better about himself for helping the young kid out in the cold. Great.' _Jack got one of those types every now and then. Sure they never gave him a fricking twenty before, that was new, but they always would ask him those stupid concerned questions like "Where are your parents?" or "Why are your clothes so dirty?" they never did anything though, only questions, never actions.

Jack would always give the same type of answer; "My family doesn't have much money so I go out every now and then to help." He told the man, hope that he sounded cheerful and like it was no big deal, like he was happy to do it. Usually people would say, "Well isn't that nice of you" or "don't work too hard". Not this man, he didn't seem to buy Jack's lie.

"I see," the man said solemnly. He looked Jack up and down, taking in his duct taped covered shoes, his ripped jeans, and his baggy blue hoodie. "Why don't I buy you something to eat and cup of hot chocolate? You can tell me more of this…family, no?"

Jack wanted to take the man up for his offer, but he didn't know this man. For all he knew, this guy could be some pedophile and he was leading Jack to his white van where he would do unspeakable things to Jack. No, he wasn't going to fall for it.

"You think I'm stupid or something?" Jack said to the Russian with a glare, "Get away from me!"

"Jack, please-"

"How do you know my name?!" Jack asked frantically, cutting him off and back away, "What do you want?!"

"Just relax and I will explain-" The man tried again, a bit more urgently, but Jack cut him off again.

"No! STAY AWAY!" And with that Jack ran as fast as he could, away from that man. He looked over his shoulder to see if the man was following him. He just saw the man still standing there with his shoulders slumped. That didn't make Jack slow down though, he just kept running.

'_Gotta make sure I lose him in case he is following me from a distance!'_ Jack thought to himself. '_How does he know my name? HOW DOES HE KNOW MY NAME?! Has he been following me for a long time? I've sure never seen him before. Wouldn't I notice if a big, Santa Clause look alike in red was following me?'_

Jack ran several blocks and was panting heavily before he stopped in front of an ally to catch his breath.

"I *pant* think *pant* I got rid of him." Jack wheezed out to himself as he doubled over and put his hands on his knees.

"Got rid of whom?" Jack heard a menacing voice from the ally say. Suddenly he was pulled into the darkness by his backpack and thrown to the ground! Jack gave a yelp and tried to get up but the foot on his chest pressed him down hard. Jack grabbed the foot and gave it a twist. The mugger, or so Jack assumed he was a mugger, cried out and jerked his foot back. Jack used this time to scramble up and run to the other end of the ally. But his attacker was quick to recover. He caught up to Jack and grabbed him roughly by the hair and tossed him into the building side. Jack's head hit the wall with a crack and he curled into a fetal position. He heard the man walk up to him and Jack looked up.

It wasn't the man Jack had expected it to be. Instead of the Russian who had known Jack's name, it was a man dressed all in black, and I mean everything. He had a long black coat, black dress shoes, a black shirt, and black slacks. Even his slicked back hair was black! The man's fingers nails were cracked and his skin was a sickly grey color. He had very thin, almost non-existent eyebrows and his eyes looked almost golden. He was very tall and thin but with the knife (black) in his hand, he looked very intimidating and dangerous.

Jack pushed himself up against the wall, wanting to sink into the shadows and away from this psycho.

"H-hey," Jack stuttered as the man slowly walked towards him and crouched down, "Just take my backpack and leave me alone." Jack took off his backpack and put it in front of the man. "Please, just let me go. I don't want any trou-"

"Shhhh…" The man said stroked Jack's face with his knife. Jack shivered and tried to pull away from the sharp object that seemed to have shadows leek off of it and was _way_ to close for comfort.

"You see this," the man said, with a British accent, as he picked up the backpack, "Has nothing in it of interest to me." He then tossed it away showing Jack that this wasn't a mugging at all, as Jack originally thought. "You on the other hand," The man continued, "well, you have something in you that I am _very _interested in. Well two things that I am interested in. You see, I've been searching for years for someone who had a special…thing in them. There _are_ many, _many _people in the world with it, but it had to be a child, not an adult or a teenager, a young child. But no parent is just going to leave their child unattended, well none of the children I needed. I almost gave up on my search.

"Then I saw you, a starving little boy _begging_ for money and you had exactly what I needed inside of you too. It was almost to good to be true." The man then grabbed Jacks face with his boney hand, his long nails digging into Jacks cheek, his knife held between his thin fingers. Jack tried to get out of his grip but the man grabbed his wrist and twisted it, subduing Jack in place. "I've been following you all week, _Jack_, making sure you were just right and then finding the right moment to grab you. When I saw you talking to that big oaf _North,_" the man said this with snare looking away. Jack tried to use this to his advantage. He brought his leg up to kick the man away but the man twisted Jack's wrist harder, causing Jack to cry out in pain. "Well," the man started talking again, looking back at Jack, "I knew that if he was here then it was about time that I picked you up." He then pouted, "and all this could've been avoided if you had just gone with North. Well it works out better for me anyway, so I thank you for that."

After he had finished with his villain monologue he pulled Jack to his feet by his hair and thrown to the ground in the center of the ally. He tried to get away but the man was quick and stomped on the back of Jack's leg, hard.

"AHHHHH!" Jack screamed in pain as he felt his leg brake. He writhed onto his back in complete agony. Jack looked up at his tormentor as he climbed over him. Jack tried to fight and punch him but the man soon overtook him. He grabbed Jack's arms above his head with one hand and drew something out of his pocket with another. It was a dark stick, about ten inches long. The man pointed it at Jack and suddenly Jacks arms spread out to his sides but he could not move them at all!

'_What the hell did he do to me?! _How_ the hell did he do it?!' _But that wasn't the worst of his worries as the man started to cut open Jack's hoodie and t-shirt with the knife.

"HELP!" Jack screamed "HELP! HEL-" He was cut off when the man waved the stick again and Jack found he couldn't open his mouth!

'_WHAT IS THIS?!' _Jack tried to scream but his mouth would not budge. It was sealed.

"We don't want to be interrupted now do we?" The man was now sitting to Jack's right leaning over him. Jack tried to wiggle away but it was like he was stuck to the ground from the waist up. He tried to kick his legs at the man but he was on the side of his newly broken leg and Jack could barely reach him with the other. It was no use. There was nothing he could do.

"Let's get started shall we?" The man said with a grin, showing off his sharp, yellow teeth. He slowly lowered the knife onto Jack bare stomach, the black blade cold against Jack's skin, "This will all be over soon, little Jackie. Relax."

'_This can't be happening!'_ Jack thought '_I still have to find Emma! I can't give up here! I have to fight! I have to get away!'_

But there was nothing he could do when the cutting started. The knife dug into Jack's torso and started shredding his body. It sliced Jack up and down, left and right. It was excruciatingly painful. It wasn't just in one place where it hurt either. It was everywhere. Jack's whole body felt like it was being cut open, and Jack couldn't even scream. He could barely think straight and he was seeing black spots in his vision. He was losing his strength fast but he knew that he couldn't fall asleep because he might never wake up.

'_I can't die! N-not here!' _Jack stared at his torturer and saw the gleeful look on his face. '_This…psycho is _not_…gonna…kill me!'_ Jack thoughts were getting slower and his leg started to stop kicking. '_NO!'_ Jack thought strongly, forcing himself to stay awake_, 'I will NOT die! Emma needs me!'_

Suddenly Jack felt a pulse go trough his body. It felt cold but warm and comforting at the same time. It overfilled his body and shot out, filling the dark ally with a bright blue light. Jack felt the man thrown of him and heard him land a few feet away with a grunt. For a while after the light had faded back into Jack there was just silence. Jack felt numb because of the light and his attacker was trying to get up off the ground after hitting his own head.

'_What…was that…? Did…that happen…'cause of…me?'_ It was becoming an effort to think now but Jack had to keep going. That light must've attracted _someone's_ attention! Jack couldn't die now that he was certain he was so close to rescue.

His heart sank, however, when he heard the sadistic man get up and started to slowly walk over to Jack.

"I don't know," He said with deep anger and malice in his voice, "what the _hell_ that was but I do know that I'm not going to stop with your organs." He was now almost over to Jack. "I think I'll go for your face now. Cut out an eye or maybe your tongue! Those are very useful ingredi-" He was cut off by a loud pop, like the sound of a bone breaking. The man looked up and cursed, he lowered himself into a defensive stance and raised that damned stick of his. Jack slowly turned his head to see what the man was looking at. It was very blurry and his vision had a bunch of black specks in it, so all Jack could make out was something big and red. Jack heard the big red blob shout something at Jacks tormentor and then there was a red flash of light.

'_S'much red.'_ Jack dreamily thought to himself still struggling to remain conscious. Jack heard footsteps running away behind him and then he saw the big red blob rush closer to him.

"Hey!" The blob said in a somewhat familiar voice but Jack could quite place it. "Jack you need to hang in a little longer, stay awake!" Jack felt his limbs release and his mouth become unstuck. But Jack had no strength left to do anything with his new freedom.

'_But I wanna sleep. Why won't the red thingy let me sleep.' _Jack felt his eyes slipping closer and closer to being closed. He felt something hit him in his face and it jolted him awake slightly.

"I'm sorry," said the blob, really sounding apologetic, "But you need to be awake. This might hurt little bit."

Jack felt hands reach under his body and cried out when he felt sharp, stabbing pain go through his body.

Jack heard a voice but he couldn't make out any of it; everything sounded like he was under water and all the sound was above him. Jack knew that he needed to focus and stay awake so he tried to focus on the pain and on the arms beneath him. He focused on the uncomfortable feeling of being pushed through a straw. He focused on the wind going through his hair and caressing his skin. But damn it was hard and he was slipping.

'_Emma, I can't do it any more.'_ Jack thought as he felt a tear go down his cheek_. 'I'm so, so sorry. I never deserved to have you. I should've been a better brother.'_

The last thing that Jack remembers before losing consciousness was the arms leaving him and the feeling of a bed underneath him. He saw bright white light and then darkness enveloped him.

~(TO BE CONTINUED)~

**A/N HAHAHAHA! I do not regret anything! So who was this evil man that did this to little Jackie? You guys should be mad at him and not me! I hope you liked the North and Jack interaction in this story!**

**Oh and for the guest that asked if I ship Tooth and North: I am more of a Tooth and Bunny shipper. I seriously love that ship! But if anyone wants to give me some ships that they like I'll see what I think and maybe even put them in the story! **

**Okay well I'll see you next week! Don't forget to review! **


	4. Part One: Waking

~SOMETHING DIFFERENT~

Part One

_chapter four_

~(JACK)~

When Jack woke up it wasn't with a loud gasp and in his old home with his two parents and Emma realizing that all of it, his parents fighting, his moms death, being taken away from Emma, had been a terrible dream. No, that was not what happened, no matter how much he wished it. Jack woke up to his body aching, his chest tight, his head throbbing, and his throat very dry. His eyelids were heavy and he struggled to open them and when he did manage that he was met with blinding white light. He took several tries to get adjusted and when he did the sight he was met with was unlike any he had seen.

'_Where am I?' _Jack seemed to be in a hospital but it looked very old fashioned. There were hardly any equipment like heart monitors and the beds didn't have any fancy settings on them, they were just plain beds and there were about ten on each side of the room with patients in them resting. '_Why am I in a hospital in the first place?' _Jack tried to think back to the last thing he remembered but his head throbbed and made it very difficult to think.

'_What happened? Why does everything hurt?' _Jack thought putting a hand on his head.

Then he remembered the ally and the man inside who had attacked him. His breathing hitched and he sat straight up in an instant. This was a bad idea because as he did so white, hot pain came from his torso. Jack gave a pain filled yelp and placed his hands on his chest as though that would cease the pain. Jack winced as another jolt of pain came and he closed his eyes, trying to shut out the pain. But as soon as his vision went black all he could see was that mans face and his gruesome knife. Jack snapped his eyes open and gave a sound of distress. His breathing had picked up to almost hyperventilating and he searched frantically around the room for the exit.

He had the overwhelming urge to get out of this room and outside into the fresh air. Jack saw the door at the end of the aisle of hospital beds. He slowly and painfully made his way out of his bed. Of course as soon as Jack put weight on his feet his legs gave out from under him and he crumpled to the floor. Jack grasped the bed but didn't have the strength to pull himself up.

"Hey, kid," Jack heard the patient across from him say, "You alright?"

'_That's a dumb question,' _Jack thought bitterly '_I'm in a hospital, you idiot. It's no wonder why you're here, I see.' _Jack head was spinning and he felt cold sweat go down his face. He heard the man call for a nurse, or healer, and before Jack knew it he was back in his bed and being given something from a bottle.

"You need to relax, Jack." Said the nurse said to Jack in a soothing voice. "This will help relieve the pain and help you sleep."

'_I don't want to sleep.' _Jack thought to himself drearily '_I just need some…fresh…air.'_ But whatever she just gave him was ridiculously strong and after a few small blinks of his eyes, Jack was asleep.

**XxX**

When Jack woke up next he noticed that outside the windows it was dark out and inside there were, oddly enough, torches hanging on the wall omitting a warm glow.

'_Well that does make adjusting to the light easier.'_ Jack thought to himself groggily, still under the effects of the sleeping medicine. Jack looked around the room to see if there was a nurse who could get him some water. Jack felt like he hadn't had anything to drink in days, and for all he knew he could be right about that. But when he looked to his right he saw something that he hadn't expected at all.

A little girl with brown hair and a round face was sleeping in a chair with her head on his bed and holding his right hand. It was someone that Jack hadn't seen for a very long time.

"Emma?" Jack said in a hoarse voice, staring at his sister in shock.

'_Please don't let this be a dream.' _Jack thought, '_I can't believe this!' _

She was here! Next to Jack, holding his hand, blowing little exhales of breath onto his arm and her head putting pressure on the mattress. She wasn't a dream! She was as real as the pain in his torso and the dryness of his throat. Jack tried to reach across his body with his free hand to stroked Emma's brown hair, but the pain was to hard to ignore, so he settled to just rub circles on her hand with his thumb.

'_She's here,' _Jack couldn't stop thinking it, '_she's here.'_

He stayed like that for a while, taking in his little sister's sleeping face. Her mouth slightly opened, the little freckles under her right eye, the tight grip on his hand like she would never let him go, everything. He could look at her long enough; she had gotten so big and was becoming so beautiful.

'_I'm gonna have to chase the boys away from her pretty soon.'_ Jack thought with a small smile.

After fifteen minutes of being conscious and feeling the happiest he's been in years, the quite in the room was broken when a man's hushed voice spoke from Jack's left.

"I see that you've been reunited, dah?"

Jack turned to see who was there and saw, sitting back in a chair with his tattooed arms crossed in front of him, the Russian man who had talked to Jack that fateful day in New York. Jack stared at him quizzically and the man stared back at him with a mirthful look in his eyes.

"Are you stalking me?" Jack asked the man after a minute of silence.

The man gave a deep chuckle, making sure that it was low enough to not disturb the other patients in the room. "No, my boy," The man said, "I am not stalking you. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Nicholas St. North, but you can call me North."

"And you already know my name." Jack said to North with a slight coolness in his gravely voice. "I'd like to know why you know my name and how Emma is here. Also," Jack paused and then sheepishly asked, "Could I have some water, please?"

North gave another small chuckle. "Of course Jack." He handed Jack a glass of water that was sitting on the side table. Jack took it gratefully and with in five gulps, it was gone.

"Now," North said as he took the empty glass from Jack, "How I know your name is because of little Emma here. If you haven't notice, I am old man and I have had many experiences in my life. But my life has felt empty for a long time, I have never found a wife; therefore I have no children. I adopted Emma almost a year ago and I couldn't be happier."

Jack looked down at his sister wistfully. '_She found a family. Does she even really need me anymore?'_

"However," North drew Jack's attention to him again, "While Emma was grateful to be with me, she was very, how do you say, melancholy. She told me about the big brother that she had and missed very dearly. I had asked her about him, you, and she told me everything that she remembered. She told me about how you were always there for her and took care of her no matter what." The way that Emma talked about him made Jack smile fondly. "I knew from hearing all these things that I wanted to meet you and to rejoin the two of you." Jack looked up taken aback.

"But why would you want to meet me?" Jack inquired, not knowing why anyone would want him. He was such a screw up and nothing ever went right when he was around.

"Why indeed!" North said with a laugh. "You must know that since meeting Emma and taken her home, I've seen her smile very few times. But when she talked about her big brother Jack, why I've never seen a bigger smile on any child! Not even on Christmas! Now, stop being so surprised and lets get back to story.

"I got in touch with social worker in charge of your files and asked to know where I could find you. But they said that you ran away and they had only been able to track you down to New York but other then that they knew nothing. This caused some distress for Emma but I told her that I would everything to find you. So, naturally, I came to New York and had a close friend of mine watch over Emma. I searched for you for 2 months, using old picture that Emma had of you. I talked to everyone who seemed to know anything. You are very hard person to track down, Jack."

"It's a gift." Jack said with a small shrug and a smirk, starting to feel a little comfortable around North.

"Indeed." North said, returning Jack's smirk with his own. "As I was saying, two months I had been searching for little boy in city that has millions of people. I was almost giving up and believe that I would never find you. But then while walking back to my hotel, I saw a child sitting outside in front of building, begging for money. I couldn't believe my eyes when I realized it was you! I must have checked the picture ten times to be sure!" Here he gave a loud laugh and it caused Jack to chuckle, liking the man more and more. "I went up to talk to you as you know, but I supposed that I was too excited and came across as a, uh…stalker?" He asked Jack and raised a bushy white eyebrow.

"You came across as a creeper who wanted to kidnap me and chain me in your basement." Jack informed him bluntly.

North looked sheepishly at Jack and rubbed the back of his neck. "I apologize for that, and for this next part as it might make me sound like a 'creeper' again. When you ran off sort of followed you, but only to keep eye on you and make sure I didn't lose you. But of course I did and because of my foolish actions, you were attacked and I can't apologize enough." North tone grew heavy and Jack could see that this man was very tired, he possibly lost sleep worrying about if Jack was okay. Jack, although slightly distress from the remembrance of the incident, reassured North that it was Jack's fault to. "I found you and took you here to St. Mungos, we caused quite a scene in the entry room when I came in. The Healers were uncertain you would make the night, but you proved us all wrong. Once I made sure you would live I went back to my home in England to get Emma and we arrived earlier this afternoon. Emma hasn't left your side since; I had to convince the Healers to let us stay after visiting hours because after Emma hard that you were awake just a few minutes before we got here, she was determined to not leave you alone."

Jack let everything sink in for a time, but mostly taking in the fact that Emma had been searching for Jack too.

'_All this time I was worrying about finding you and I searched everywhere.' _Jack thought as he gazed at his sister. '_In the end, you found me.'_

"How long was I out?" Jack asked absentmindedly. He wasn't even really that concerned, just curious.

"Three days." North informed him.

North and Jack sat in a comfortable silence after that, but Jack realized he had more to ask North.

"That man," Jack wasn't even really sure if his attacker could be even classified as human, _he _was more like a demon, "Who was he? Why did he…why did he do this to me?" Jack looked up at North, his heart felt like it was caught in his throat.

North gave a great sigh. "Jack, I will explain why you were attacked by that man, but first for you to understand that I must explain something else."

Jack silently wished that North would hurry up and just tell him, but he had a feeling that North did everything for a reason. So Jack patiently waited and listened to what North had to say.

"First off," North began, "What do you think about magic?"

Jack raised an eyebrow at North. '_Is he serious? Magic?!' _"Like the wand waving, abracadabra, hocus pocus, potion making, broom riding magic?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Yes," North affirmed Jack, completely dead serious, "What do you think of it?" He repeated, leaning forward in his chair.

"It doesn't exist." Jack said firmly.

"And why do you think that?"

"I don't think it, I know that it doesn't exist. Magic is just something that you tell little kids to make them feel better." Jack looked down at his lap, "I learned long ago that believing in fairy tales and _magic_ doesn't help you in the real world."

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong, my boy. Magic does in fact exist." North corrected him. Jack look at him disbelievingly.

"Prove it."

North smiled and brought out a smooth, thin stick and gave it a small wave. As soon as that happened snow and beautiful, twinkling lights fell from above Jack and circled around him. It was the most amazing things Jack has ever seen. He held up his hands and got the perfect snowflakes in his palm and felt an enjoyable chill. It was then that Jack realized what had just happened. Jack turned his head to North, wide eyed and jaw hanging low.

"Okay." Jack said in a small, high pitched voice, "I believe you. Continue."

North smiled at Jack's astonished expression and slipped the stick, wand, into his pocket. "Now that you believe let me explain a little more. Yes, magic is real and I am a wizard and so are you."

Jack let that sink in. '_I can't be a wizard! I'm not anything special. I've never even done magic before!' _When Jack expressed his thoughts to North, North just gave a little smile.

"That is not truth, Jack. For you see you have used magic before." At Jacks confused expression North continued, "First let me explain something I couldn't earlier. When you ran off I did not follow you. When I first came across you I could sense strong magic in you. I knew that if you ran off I would have trouble finding you again so I placed a magical tracer on you. You see, when wizards are in trouble, the magic in our core will respond to the trouble. I invented this little trick to keep track of my comrades a while ago and to aid them. When you were attacked, your magic reacted and tried to protect you in a great burst of energy."

'_So that's what the jolt was? My magic trying to protect me?' _Jack thought.

"How come my magic never protected me before? Why did it choose only then to help me?" Jack felt abandoned for some reason and he was confused. This was all so much to take in. Especially after some sort of drug induced sleep.

North gave a gentle, knowing smile. "Magic is something very hard to control and to understand. It takes years of learning to even grasp basics." North explained vaguely. "However, one thing I am most certain about is that magic is something very special inside us all. It is our centers, if you want to think it that way. It is with us are whole lives and determines what and who we are! Even so, it takes the right time to appear before us. That night in the alley was the right time for your magic to appear. Understand?"

'_Something special, huh?' _Now that Jack thought about it, he did feel different somehow. He felt a small coldness in him, right in the center of his body, but it wasn't an uncomfortable cold. Jack felt it calming him, soothing all his worries. '_I could get used to this feeling. Whether it took a long time to make it's presence or not, I'm glad that my magic saved me.' _He sank farther back into his pillows feeling a little tired but wanting to keep going.

'_This is a lot to take in for a guy who just came out of a drug induced sleep. Way to go Jackie boy.' _He gave himself a mental pat on the back.

"Okay," Jack said to North, "Magic is real and we are both wizards and all that jazz, but what about _him_?" Jack's voice unconsciously filled with antipathy. "He said that I had 'something special' in me that he wanted and it sounded like he knew you. Do you know who he is?"

North's expression became weary almost instantly and ran a hand through his hair. "I do know that man. He goes by a few names but his true name is Kozmotis Black."

Actually putting a name to that monster made him seem much worse. Jack's head throbbed and he put his hand to his head. _'Well the name does fit.'_ Jack thought, '_Black?'_

"He is a member of a group of dark wizards," North continued, "They are called Death Eaters."

"Wait? Dark wizards?" Jack asked slightly confused, "Death Eaters? Who came up with that name?" He said, trying to sound light-hearted but when he saw North's grim expression he decided to just let North explain.

"There are two sides to wizards, Light and Dark. Most wizards are on Light side, like myself. We try not to play gods and use magic for anything but good. But then there are those who relish in power and would do anything for it. About 15 years ago, a dark wizard gained power and followers and started a terrible war. He was very large threat and many wizards to this day fear the sound of his name. He was known as The Dark Lord Voldemort and he and his followers killed thousands before he was defeated. Kozmotis Black, or Pitch Black as many came to call him, was one of The Dark Lord's generals. He was one of the fiercest duelists and his skill in using the dark arts was second only to Voldemort. I was unfortunate enough to duel him on a few occasions and they had all been near death experiences. After Voldemort fell, he went into hiding and hadn't been heard of for nearly eight years."

"Until that night, three days ago." Jack said heavily.

"Yes," North agreed. "I contacted the wizard government about your attack and my sighting of Pitch and they are trying to find him. They even got the non-magical world looking for him under a story that they would understand. Jack," North leaned in, "If there is anything that you think that might be helpful, anything that he said, please tell me."

Jack would rather not think about that night at all anymore. He wanted to put it far away in the back of his mind or forget it completely. But he knew that would never happen. It would always be with him whether he wanted it to be or not.

"He said that I had something that he needed, something he had be looking for along time. He said that a lot of people had it in them but he needed a kid, like me. Someone who was all alone and had no family that would…miss them" Jack said the last part softly to himself, but he knew from the large hand on his shoulder that North had heard him.

Jack tried to think of anything else but it was getting harder and his head was throbbing more and more. "Wait," He said remembering something, "He said that he needed two things in me. Do you know if that would help?" Jack looked at North.

"Hmm," North said as he combed a hand through his beard, "It is not much, but it gives me an idea of why he possibly did it." He huffed out a great sigh. "Jack, remember when I told you that Pitch was very skilled in Dark Arts?"

"Uh-huh." Jack said tiredly.

"Well that includes him being skilled in Dark rituals. He preformed a handful during the war and caused great panic, which only added the rituals. It was said that he used certain…ingredients to make the rituals so potent. You see Jack, he used the organs and body parts of wizards and witches to fuel the intense magic of the rituals."

Jack let that sink in. "W-what are you trying to say? Do you think that he tried to t-take my…_organs_…for some sort of ritual?" Jack's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his head and hit North in the face.

North regretfully nodded. "Jack, you are on pain reducing potions so you can not feel your body well, but you are in very bad shape."

"How bad?" Jack asked, not really wanting to know.

"When I found you," North started slowly, "You were lying in ally all covered in blood. You had so many cuts, deep and long. There were two in particular that stood out. One over your heart and the other is over your liver. The skin was pulled away and it was clear that he," North paused and took a deep breath and when Jack looked at him he saw the North look almost angry, "that he tried to take your organs.

"I took you here because with simple spell and few hours you would be good as new. But for some reason, no matter how hard Healers tried, your wounds would not close. It was discovered Pitch used dark artifact on you that was used often by him in the war. It was a dark dagger made out of black sand and when used it attacked like acid and ate away skin. Why Pitch uses this dagger was never discovered but it made him very feared and powerful. If it wasn't for his absolute loyalty to the Dark Lord, I do believe he would've tried to defeat Voldemort on his own.

"To get the black sand out of your system required very painful procedure and made it so they had to close wounds non-magical way. You will have scaring I am most sad to say."

Jack didn't know what to feel. He felt numb, but he could feel the wetness of tears going down his cheeks. His head throbbed and he could feel whatever they gave him for pain coming off and his body was slowly starting to ache. But he wanted to know more, so much more. He ignored everything his body was telling him and asked North more questions.

"B-but why couldn't he take someone else's organs?" Jack asked, looking down at his hands fretfully, "I mean, n-not like I want this to happen to anyone." He looked up at North, eyes shrink wrapped in tears, "But why did he specifically pick me? Did he know that I was a wizard?"

"I believe so, my boy." North said as his eyes softened, "A wizards body is all connected to magical center, so everything in us has magical properties. It has been said that before a wizard trains and hone skills, that is when wizard is has most raw power. I believe that Pitch wanted to take _your_ organs specifically because you are untrained wizard with raw power. You were homeless so he was able to get to you easier than if he went after child with mother always watching them."

Jack couldn't hold it together any longer. He let out a sob and draped an arm over his face.

'_Why? WHY?!' _Jack screamed in his head. _'Why couldn't I have a normal life with Emma? Why couldn't my mom be alive and my dad still be a dad? How come I didn't get a childhood?_ _What did I do to disserve these things to happen to me? Is this really how life goes? Kids being attacked by psychos and not even get the assurance that it could've been anyone? That it was all just dumb luck and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time? No. Pitch had me picked out and it would've happened anyway. I was just lucky it was after I met North. Why is it always me? Why does God like to toy with my life?! Am I such a bad person that I need to be punished in this way?'_

As Jack lay there in his hospital bed crying his eyes out and North sat next to him his chair trying to think of some way to help. Some way to distract Jack and to get him to stop crying, if only for a little while. North didn't want to wake up Emma and have her see her brother weak and crying. He didn't think that would be fair to Jack or to her.

'_What to do, what to do?'_ North thought to himself. _'I need to find a way to cheer Jack up without saying something and making it worse. I need to find a way for him to laugh.'_ North looked down at Jack, at the arm hiding most of his face in shame, at his bandaged forehead, and then at his hair. It was then that North remembered something else that had happened to him. '_Ah-ha! This just maybe it!'_ North quickly conjured a mirror and tried to grab Jack's attention.

"Jack," North placed a gentle hand on Jack's arm, "There is something you need to see. Something else that occurred because your magic protected you."

Jack was still very hysterical when he heard North say this. It took him a minute to calm down enough to ask "What?" in a small shaky voice.

"See for yourself." And with that North placed the mirror on Jack's lap. Jack looked down at it and then raised an eyebrow at North. "Go on." North encouraged.

'_My face better not be deformed,'_ Jack thought as he slowly raised the mirror. At first he only saw his red, puffy eyes and his bandaged forehead. Then he tilted the mirror up slightly and saw his hair. At least, he was pretty sure it was his hair.

His hair, which he was used to being brunet, was pure white. He then looked at his eyes closer and past the red puffiness he saw that instead of brown, they were a bright blue. Jack's jaw dropped and he stared at the new developments in his features. Jack slowly turned his head to North and North chuckled at his reaction.

"Let me explain." North said with a grin. "When your magic was released it put immense stress on your body. As a result, your body's way of handling it was to turn your hair white. If not for that, more damage could have occurred to your body. As way to deal with the power spreading out of your system, your eyes absorbed a great amount of your magic and sent it circling through your body normally. If they had not done this you would have most likely lost all your magic."

Jack looked back at the mirror, astonished. He carefully slipped his right hand out of Emma's limp grip and pulled a lock of his white hair. Actually touching it and feeling it against his fingers made it much easier to believe. Without even meaning to, Jack let out a small laugh. It was then followed by another, and then another, and another. Pretty soon Jack was in a giggling fit and had to cover his mouth with his hand to stop from being to loud.

"I look so stupid!" Jack said between his laughter. North joined in with his own hushed laughter.

"What makes you say that?" North asked, cheerful that Jack was laughing.

"I look like hahaha an old man!"

"And what's wrong with that?" North asked incredulously, sitting up straight and crossing his arms. This only made Jack laugh even harder.

"I-I hahaha look, ow, l-like your son! Hahaha!" Jack was laughing so hard that new tears were coming to his eyes, but his stomach was starting to hurt so he tried to calm down a little.

North's eyes softened. "You could be. If you wanted to, of course."

Jack stopped laughing completely now but he still had a smile on his face. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I could adopt you. Like I did Emma." North smiled at Jack expectantly.

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. _'He wants to adopt me? He wants me to be his son? Why? Is it because he just wants Emma to be happy?'_ Then another part of his brain spoke up. _'NO Jack you little dolt! Why would he sit here and watch you cry and try to comfort you unless he cared about you? He seems genuine, like you can actually trust him.'_ But Jack still felt uneasy.

"How do I know you won't get tired of me and Emma one day?" Jack remembered the day when his father walked out of the door without even saying good-bye. Jack's last memory of him was his back; sometimes that was his only memory of him. "How do I know your not going to leave us?" Jack was scared of what North would say. He really did like North and he didn't want to think of the man like this but he couldn't help it.

"Jack Frost," North leaned closer to Jack, grabbed his hand, and looked him right in the eye, "I promise to never leave you like your father did. I promise to never separate you from Emma like child services did. I promise to never, _never_ hurt you like Pitch did. I swear to be the greatest father to you, if you would honor me with that privilege. Believe me when I say this Jack, I will never get 'tired' of you or Emma." He leaned back in his chair, "Is not possible. I care for you both too much!"

Jack couldn't breath. This man who really only met him an hour ago wanted to be his father. His _father!_ It filled Jack with such joy he almost jumped out of his bed to hug North. Almost. He settled for just a nod.

"Okay." He said, grinning the biggest grin he had ever done.

North laughed and clapped his hands. "Prekrasniy! Wonderful!" North stood and ruffled Jack's hair. "Now, you must sleep."

"But can't I wait for Emma to wake up?" Jack asked, "Please?"

"No." North said firmly, sounding exactly like a parent. "You can see her in the morning, you need your rest. You are still very injured. I can tell that the potions are wearing off so I will call Healer to give you more. I will be right back." North left Jack alone with the sleeping Emma and he started to stroke her hair.

'_She's so beautiful. I can't believe we're together again. Please, if there is a God above, don't let this be a dream.'_

When North came back a few minutes later, the nurse, or Healer as it seems that's the wizard term, came to Jack's side.

"Hi Jack, good to see you back with the living." She said teasingly with a British accent.

"Good to be back. Those other dead people weren't all that lively." Jack joked back. She giggled softly and helped him drink the liquid in the glass vial. Jack was already feeling the effects; becoming drowsier and his soreness was decreasing.

"Get some sleep Jack." North said as he ruffled Jack's newly white locks. "I will see you in morning." With that, North went over to pick up Emma.

"Wait." Jack said and North halted. "Can you wait till 'm sleepin' ta leave?" Jack knew that it wouldn't be long anyway until he was asleep and it wouldn't matter if North were there or not. But Jack felt the need to feel like someone was watching over him.

North smiled at him, "Of course, my boy. I will stay as long as you need me to."

Jack fell asleep soon after that. North felt it didn't matter any more if he took Emma back to their hotel. She was already asleep and if Jack did wake up again and found himself alone, well North couldn't do that. And after actually meeting Jack and talking to him, North couldn't bring himself to leave him.

'_Such a small child.'_ North thought. _'Yet he is stronger the wild horses.'_ North looked at Emma and Jack, both sound asleep. _'My children. My little ones.'_ North felt his heart fill with pride and swore to himself that they will never feel suffering like they have already lived ever again.

North settled into his chair, copied his adopted children and fell asleep.

**XxX**

Jack had been in the hospital for three weeks before he was released. When Jack had woken up from the night North explained everything to him, Emma was already up and had almost pounced on Jack when he awoke. But North warned her that she could hurt Jack so she made sure to give him a gentle hug, one that lasted for several minutes consisting of both of them crying and telling each other "I missed you so much" or "I'll never leave you again". When they parted, Emma laid next to him on his bed and they talked for hours about nothing in particular. They just relished being together.

But Jack's recovery was harder than he expected it to be. He first saw his wounds when getting his bandages changed and he reacted badly to it, very badly. Seeing the red, irritated gashes and stitches littering his body, he had a massive panic attack and it took both North and Emma half an hour to calm him down. He couldn't stand the sight of his wounds. Two jagged "Y" shaped cuts over his heart and to the right of his stomach were the worst ones. They were deep and the Healers said that they were taking longer to heal then they normally would, even with the help of various potions and creams. They suspected that these areas were effected longer by the black sand of that knife then the other slashes. What sickened Jack the most about his injuries was that even though Pitch only needed two organs, he still made numerous cuts all over Jack torso. It was as if Pitch just wanted Jack to be in pain, to suffer.

But having Emma and North beside him got him through all the rough parts. They stuck with him when he just needed someone to be there. They made him laugh if he got depressed and they took his mind off of things. North had gotten all the papers sorted out and had officially adopted Jack and they really did seem like father and son. Emma and Jack had easily slipped back into the role of siblings, almost like they were never separated. Jack constantly teased her and they would banter about the smallest things, North would just sit back and watch in amusement.

Since Jack still wasn't fit enough to travel by any magical transportation back to North's home in America, they had to travel the non-magical way, or the muggle way. Jack was still getting used to all the weird magical terms. When they were in the airport waiting for their flight, Jack felt very nervous. It felt like everyone was looking at him and the crowds were almost too much. It seemed that at any moment, Pitch would appear out of the crowd and take him away to finish the job. Jack held tightly onto Emma's hand as the walked to their gate and onto their plane. North got seats in First Class and Jack was sitting next to Emma, so Jack's nerves weren't that bad as they would be because there weren't that many people near them. But it wasn't until they were flying and Jack looked out the window that he felt at ease.

They were so high and the world was so far away. Jack couldn't believe that he was away from the messed up world below, if only for a little while. It was amazing and filled Jack with such joy and he pressed his face against the window to get a better look. North saw his delight and leaned over the aisle to talk to him.

"Jack." North said and Jack reluctantly turned his attention to North and away from the amazing sight outside of the window. "In Wizarding World," North began, "we have many modes of transportation. One is magical flying broom sticks that you can ride."

Jacks eyes widened with amazement. "Really?" He asked excitedly.

"Yes!" North laughed. "I am actually maker of several types of brooms."

"Really?!" Jack asked, getting more and more excited. "Can you make me one?"

"Maybe one day. We even have a sport were they use brooms, called Quidditch."

They spent the rest of the flight with North telling Jack all about the Wizarding World. Emma had fallen asleep as she had heard all this before and Jack traded seats with her so that he could be closer the North. They had covered some of the basics when Jack was in the hospital, like the schooling, some basic laws, the money, but right now they were getting into the good stuff.

"Are dragons real?" Jack asked when they got onto the subject of magical creatures.

"Yes!" North informed him. "All sorts of dragons! There are many different breeds in world."

"What about werewolves?"

"They also exist."

"Cool." Was all Jack could say. In fact, every time North answered a question his response would be either be "cool" or "awesome". Jack couldn't think of any other way of saying it. Everything he was learning was just so cool and awesome!

Their plane landed around six in the evening and Jack was dead tired. He had been nervous about flying and seeing his new house so he barely got any sleep the night before. He had been planning on sleeping on the plane but then he started talking to North, and well you now the rest of the story.

He had been able to fall asleep as they took a taxi from the airport to North's house in upstate New York. It was a two hour drive and Jack did feel a little more rested when they stopped, but he knew he was gonna have to sleep as soon as he was settled.

When they got out of the taxi, Jack starred at the house in astonishment. Oh, and when I say house, I really mean giant mansion. Jack had never seen a bigger house. It had big steps leading up to an unnecessarily big door. The outside seemed to be made out of white marble and had several sections leading out and stood thee stories tall. Around the mansion were trees and pathways that lead to unknown places that Jack had the great urge to follow.

"Uh, North?" Jack asked.

"Yes, my boy?"

"How much money do you make from making brooms?"

"Well my brooms are best in world!" North said with a wave of his hand. "All professional Quidditch players use them and even Minister of Magic owns one of mine."

Jack didn't really know how to react to this information. _'Best in the world, huh?' _The ten year-old thought. _'He better make me one.'_

They all walked up the steps together and North opened the door to Jack's new home. The inside wasn't what Jack expected it to be like. He expected everything to white and all spread out, leaving a lot of empty space. What greeted him were warm colors like red and yellow. The floor plan of the house was close together but it didn't feel cramped. It felt warm and cozy. The entry room had a wide wooden door to the left and an open archway in front of them that seemed to lead into the living room. To the right was a large staircase that lead to the second floor and split into two hallways.

"Wow." Jack said and looked around him in amazement.

"Jack, Jack, Jack!" Emma said excitedly as she grasped his hand and jumped up and down, "Your going to love it here! There's so much to do! I can't wait to show you the back yard and the pond in the woods behind it! Dad never lets me go there alone but since you are here we can go together!"

"Yeah," Jack said with a tired chuckle, "sure."

"I have to show you my room! It's got a bunch of fairies painted on the walls that _move!_ And they sometimes talk to you!"

"That's really cool!" Jack said enthusiastically, remembering how much she liked fairies and the moving pictures that wizards have. _'Two of her favorite things in one.'_

"Not so fast, little one." North interjected. "Jack is tired and needs rest. You can show him your room tomorrow but right now let's take him to his room."

Emma looked down dejectedly for a second but then was soon smiling all over again. "_Okay~!" _She said and started to half skip half drag Jack up the stairs with North following behind them. The lead him up to the second level and down two hallways before they reached two doors. Jack could tell that the one on the right was Emma's room because of the sparkly sign on the door that said in choppy writing "Emma's Room".

"This is your room." North said as he opened the door on the left and lead gestured Jack to enter. Jack stepped in and looked around his bedroom, his first bedroom.

It was a fair size with bright blue walls and two windows in the wall across from the door and a window in the wall to the right of the door. It was pretty plainly decorated. It only had a bed, a dresser, a few shelves, and a desk in it. Jack went over to the bed and sat down on it.

"I know is not much," North started looked around the room and walked over to Jack, "But I did not want to fill room with things that I didn't know if you would like. We will go shopping and get things to hang on walls or books to put in shelves. We go tomorrow, today you rest." North patted Jack's shoulder. "Get some sleep, my boy." With that North took Emma out of the room and left Jack to sleep.

Jack looked around the room that was almost too large. _'What am I even gonna put in this room? I've never had one so I guess I'll just have ta figure it out. North will probably help if I ask.'_

Jack then took of his shoes and climbed under the sheets and drifted off into sleep._ 'Wow. This bed is almost too soft.'_ Were his last thoughts before he went under.

**XxX**

It was almost a year later that the man had visited. Jack and Emma were enjoying the last month of summer and were just coming in from swimming at the pond. They came in from the back yard using the kitchen door and sitting at the table was North, but he wasn't alone. Sitting with him was an old man with long, white hair and a long beard, longer than North's! He had blue eyes hidden under half-moon shaped glasses. His was wearing a robe that made Jack want to cringe, as it was brightly colored and covered in odd designs.

"Ah!" North said. "There you are, my little ones! Jack, go up stairs and change into dryer clothes and then come back down. My friend and I need to talk to you. Emma would you please just stay in your room for a little bit?"

Jack and Emma were confused but they did what North said. Jack quickly changed out of his swim trunks and shirt and pulled on khaki shorts and a hoodie and rushed back down stairs into the kitchen.

Jack sat down next to North at the table and across from the strange man.

"Jack, this is my good friend Albus Dumbledore."

"Hello Mr. Dumbledore." Jack said.

"Hello Jack." Dumbledore said. "How are you?"

"Um," Jack said uncertainly. "I'm okay, I guess."

"Jack." North said and Jack turned to look at him. "Albus is the Headmaster of Hogwarts and he came to personally tell you that you have been accepted."

Jack smiled at that and looked at the man across from him. "Really?" Dumbledore chuckled.

"Why of course. You have performed magic and Nicholas asked me if I would discuss with you about a certain matter."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked them, confused at the now solemn look on his adopted father's face.

"I explained to Albus," North started, "your situation and told him about _that_ incident."

Jacks face darkened and he looked down at his hand. "Oh." Was all he could say.

"Your father and I wanted to make sure that you were ready, Jack." Dumbledore said. "We wanted to know what you thought and then we will all decide from there. So, do you think you are ready? Really think, take your time Jack."

And Jack did. It had been about nine months since he had been attacked and he was doing fine. _'No you aren't, Jack,' _He said to himself _'don't lie to yourself.'_

Okay so he wasn't doing that well. Not that well at all, really. He had good days like today where everything was fine and he barely even thought about any of it. But there were a lot of days that he felt broken and woke up and he knew, he _knew_ that he would have an out of breath feeling all day. He couldn't stand looking at his body. The scars were sometimes too much for him and his panic attacks didn't seem to be getting better. He had terrible nightmares most nights. North had started making him a dreamless sleep potion, but it could only do so much. Then there were the crowds. Jack couldn't stop thinking that somewhere, hidden in the hordes of people, is Pitch waiting for him. He felt like a rope was being tied around his throat when he went in a crowd.

Jack looked at North and saw in his eyes that no matter what Jack chose, he would have his back no matter what.

"I'm not ready." Jack told Dumbledore.

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Then I have another question for you."

"O-Okay. Go ahead."

"Would you think you think you would be ready next year?" Dumbledore asked him and Jack looked at North. North smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder, telling him silently that he believed in Jack.

Jack smiled at the thought. _'I have North and Emma. What can't I do with them helping me through?"_

"Yeah." Jack told Dumbledore. "I believe I will be."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his glasses mischievously and Jack found himself coming to like this old man. "Then I have a suggestion. Why don't you come to Hogwarts next year? You would start your first year where most would their second year but I don't think that would be a problem. At Hogwarts you can make friendships and grow and learn. I believe that after the life that you have lead, you more than deserve to be at Hogwarts."

Jack looked at North to see what he thought and North gave him a nod and a firm squeeze on his shoulder. Jack felt confidence that he hasn't felt very often. He knew that he could do this. He believed in himself that he could overcome these demons and nightmares plaguing him. He knew that North would be there for him when he needed him and would pick him up if he ever stumbled or fell.

"Yeah." Jack agreed. "I'll do it."

~(TO BE CONTINUED)~

**A/N OH MY GOSH! This was the longest thing I have ever written! 8,123 words and 19 pages! Crap! Okay whoa man whoa. I'm sorry it took me forever to update put I really didn't want to split this chapter up at any point and I just wanted to get it done! And now it is and I have a feeling of accomplishment and you guys have a long chapter to read! Everyone is happy!**

**Okay so please tell how you liked it. I feel like I butchered Dumbledore at the end. What do you guys think? Also just putting it out there that I am now done with Jack's back-story. Who should I do next? Hiccup, Merida, or Rapunzel. I might do Merida next but I'm still no sure.**

**Please review and follow! Hopefully I can get a new chapter up in the next couple of weeks! Okay bye lovelies! I LOVE ALL OF YOU!**


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